Two Girls of Gettysburg by Lisa Klein

Author:Lisa Klein [Klein, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, General, Historical
ISBN: 9781599908052
Google: 6sesi1t7HgkC
Amazon: B0052LU9SA
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Published: 2011-04-09T16:00:00+00:00

Lizzie

Chapter 26

On Wednesday, June 24, with still no sign of rebels, Grace set out to do some shopping, and Mama made me go with her. Though her belly was as big as a pumpkin, Grace stepped nimbly along. She clearly didn’t need my help.

We stopped to watch the new Adams County cavalry drilling on the Diamond. Captain Bell looked like he had his hands full with his men, mostly Mexican War veterans older than Papa and some lads who looked as if they’d never held guns before. I doubted they could do much to protect the town from invading rebels.

“I wish Amos and Ben would hurry home. I’d feel a lot safer,” I remarked to Grace.

“Just two more days,” she said.

“More like three, I’d guess. They’ve got twenty-five miles to cover each way, and that road is bound to be crowded and full of ruts.”

At South Street near the tannery we saw a family of Negroes laden with bundles. Even the littlest child dragged a burlap sack. Amos had said that many Negroes had taken to hiding from the rebels in the rocky gullies and thick woods of Culp’s Hill.

“You’ll be safer with Mama and me, especially if the baby comes,” I said, hoping Grace was not thinking of joining them.

She nodded. “He’s not due for another month yet,” she said.

At the newspaper office, we heard that the train bringing the new volunteer militia back to Gettysburg had hit a cow and derailed, stranding the troops a good ways from town. They would be useless in case of a rebel attack in the night.

But the rebels didn’t come that night or the next day. They were thought to be in the mountains to the west, probably raiding farms and driving horses and cattle back to their camp.

Then Friday morning wagons began to roll back into town from the east; people who had fled to York and Baltimore were coming home, believing the crisis to be over. They reminded me of dogs with their tails between their legs, ashamed for having panicked so easily. But there was no sign of Amos and Ben.

About noon the whistle of a train sounded, and the news quickly spread that the volunteer militia had finally arrived. I ran to the corner just as they marched by, resplendent in their new uniforms and bearing shiny rifles. Even if they were raw recruits, with less than a week of training, their sheer numbers—nearly seven hundred men—inspired confidence. Half of Gettysburg had turned out to welcome the volunteers with cheers and food. A photographer from Tyson Studios huddled under a black cloth, trying to capture the scene with his boxy camera. I found myself next to Annie Baumann, who was standing with her father in front of their store. She handed me a small flag to wave.

“The sight of these boys’ll make the Johnnies run right back over the mountains!” Mr. Baumann predicted as the militia, with Captain Bell’s cavalry in the lead, headed west along Chambersburg Pike. It was comforting to know that hundreds of soldiers were stationed between us and the rebels.

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